Monday, July 06, 2009

As I've mentioned before, things tend to get a little nutso during the summer months; however, I find that as long as we maintain a few constants from day to day, we get through the crazies just fine and enjoy each day to it's full potential.

It shouldn't surprise you that pancakes are one of those constants. I declared them good mothering material long ago, disguised them as baby food, and dressed them up as dessert; yep, we are pancake aficionados around here. We like them so much, I've even considered devoting another blog entirely to pancakes, but I'd rather spend my time flipping them and eating them alongside my boys.

This last batch of pancakes was inspired from an outing to my friend Jamie's red currant patch. She graciously invited me to come raid her backyard/Garden of Eden, which I was happy to do. Her bushes was laden with ripe berries and I picked about ten pints in under an hour. I have to say, I'm pretty happy in a berry patch; I'd rather be getting my hands stained and my back sore than watching TV or getting a manicure (like that ever happens). I picked a lot of berries as a kid, so guess it brings back fond memories.The best part though?Jamie offered me one of her red currant bushes, so next year I'll have my own stash. Sweeet. Thanks, Jamie!

That evening after berry picking, I stewed up some of the crimson red currants with a splash of red wine and spices to make a killer syrup. The next morning the only logical route was pancakes, ideal Saturday morning fare.

We were scheduled to go out for a brunch later, but anyone with young children knows that brunch is usually lunch, and we needed something to tide us over until then. Fortunately I had spotted a recipe for Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes in Martha Stewart Living (June 2009 issue) and they proved to be the perfect platform for my red currants.

The tart red currant sauce from the night before was just exquisite with the cornmeal pancakes. There's no way this is getting past your palate unnoticed, no matter how groggy you are or how engrossing the comics are; a real sit-up-and-take-notice breakfast!

We're crazy about anything with cornmeal or polenta and these pancakes are a keeper. The cornmeal gave them a lovely texture and rescued them from being too pasty, as I find some buttermilk pancakes tend to be.Of course you can substitute whatever berries you happen to have on hand, or none at all.

Later that afternoon upon returning from brunch, I found myself with a couple of quiet hours while the babies napped, and I turned the rest of the red currants into nine jars of ruby red jelly. It was my first canning of the season. Hurray!

Spoon batter onto griddle 1/3 cup at a time. Sprinkle with sugared berries, about 2 tablespoons per pancake. Cook until edges are set, 3 to 4 minutes (bubbles won't appear as with traditional pancakes). Flip, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter and currants, adding more butter to griddle and keeping prepared pancakes warm on a baking sheet in the oven.

Serve with Ruby-Red Currant Syrup

I can see myself stewing up another big batch of this tangy sauce and serving it with roast pork or turkey, or just dousing a bowl of vanilla ice cream. It's superb.

Combine everything in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat ad simmer gently for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Berries will disintegrate and mixture should reduce and thicken slightly.Remove from heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve.Cool slightly and serve with pancakes.

Your photos are perfectly stunning! We are really big on pancakes around here too. I don't think I've ever had any currants at all, and this is making me sad that that hasn't happened yet. I'm going to have to track some down!

I loved the look and sound of these pancakes from the moment you posted them. But I despaired of ever tasting them, since I've never seen currants for sale in my area, and as far as I know, they don't grow around here. Then one day this past week I was walking through my grocery store and found red currants! I was so excited! I bought them and tried this and it was AMAZING. The syrup, the pancakes, everything. The only trouble I had was with the syrup. The berries just wouldn't disintegrate. I wound up using a ricer to smush them up without putting the skins in. That may not have been the right thing to do, but it worked pretty well. I love food, but I've never been big on cooking, until I found your blog. Now I get excited about trying new things. Thank you for the inspiration, and the recipes!

Hello!syrup is scrummy! waiting for pancakes tomorrow... but dipped my morning glory muffin in it this morning ... mmmm... tastey...now, all the berries that don't make it through the sieve... what do you do with those... spread on toast?... throw them out?i'm not a cook so i don't want to throw them out if there's something that can be done.. they're so appealing!thanksab

Those pancakes were delicious!! Even my husband loved them, and he usually hates berries in his pancakes. Didn't try the syrup, but maybe next time. Didn't have any time for that. You have a great blog by the way!